Symbol for abortion opponents canonised
The Vatican has long championed the case of Gianna Beretta Molla, an Italian pediatrician who died in 1962 at the age of 39 a week after giving birth to her fourth child. Doctors had told her it was dangerous to proceed with the pregnancy because she had a tumour in her uterus, but she insisted on carrying the baby to term.
In proclaiming her a saint, John Paul praised her "extreme sacrifice" and her simple but profound message.
